


Curse of Knowledge

by werelocked



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-19 04:56:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15502779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/werelocked/pseuds/werelocked
Summary: You're not the only one cursed with knowledge. I hope they remember you.





	Curse of Knowledge

**Author's Note:**

> I saw Infinity War in theaters, and a week later this idea wouldn't leave me alone. The ending only just now came to me so I figured I had to finally post it and make Infinity War even sadder than it already is

All that was left was rubble.

Years of pain and fear and effort to prevent this very thing before they even knew what it was. They weren’t any more prepared now than they weren’t back then. And it showed.

They had lost.

Tony didn’t know how long he sat there, mourning. His thoughts were swimming with memories of Peter, the Guardians, and the Avengers. The Avengers.

How many of them were left? He had to find out, but first he had to find a way off this planet.

“This way.” Nebula appeared from behind the remains of a ruined building. One of Thanos’ daughters. He let her lead him to a small ship - far from state of the art - but functional. The two of them squeezed in. Nebula took the ship’s controls and he didn’t fight her; she didn’t question it when he set the course trajectory to Earth.

It was a rocky journey, but the tiny ship powered through. FRIDAY guided as much as possible so they made it to Wakanda, but crash landed seconds later. He and Nebula stumbled through the forest on the outskirts of the city in direction of the Royal Palace.

Miraculously, they found James Rhodes. The soldier was in his War Machine suit, looking beaten up and ragged. Yet. “You’re alive.” Tony choked out. “Rhodey.”

“Yeah,” Rhodey said hesitantly. He returned the desperate hug. “But-” He trailed off, squinting into the forest.

They broke apart. Tony left him after suggesting to go rest in the Quinjet. He rounded up the others and saw Nebula doing the same. She spoke quietly to a raccoon creature who seemed to ask her a question. She shook her head.

Tony found Steve sitting on the forest ground looking dazed.

“Steve.” He tried nudging him to his feet.

The captain didn’t react. “What happened? What happened?”

“Let’s regroup on the ship. We can make a game plan after we get rest.” Eventually Steve joined the other survivors following Tony and Nebula. Nobody spoke, but even then a niggling doubt took shape in his mind. There was something they were missing.

After he and Nebula herded the everyone to relative safety, they made their way to the palace.

“Please let the queen know we request an audience with her.” Tony asked the first guard he saw. Her uniform was red and black leather, with silver vibranium shoulder plates. She nodded and struck her spear to the ground once before going off. In no time at all she returned and gestured for them to follow her. Once she delivered them to the throne room, she melted back into the shadows.

All of the council seats were empty, except for one. Queen Ramonda was poised on one of the chairs facing the entrance, to the left of Shuri, who sat on the throne.

“Thank you for meeting with us on short notice, your highness.” Tony didn’t know whether to bow or not, so he didn’t. She reached out a hand and he kissed her fingers instead.

“Of course.”

“I only came to say I’m sorry for your loss, lady. I’m sorry for your son.”

“We do not mean to intrude on your time of grief.” Nebula bowed her head. “We only wish to pay our respects.”

The queen eyed them for a long moment. “You must be mistaken. I have no son. Queen Shuri sits on the Wakandan throne.” Tony glanced at the young queen in question. She nodded in agreement with her mother but as he studied her, Shuri grimaced.

“Forgive me, I - I meant no harm.” The full realization clicked in place. He made eye contact with Shuri. “Go to your lab and watch your security footage, then back up all your files, twice. Triple check. Lock it down tight. Don’t let yourself forget.”

At that moment a woman wearing the red guard uniform raced in. Her vibranium armor was gold and her eyes were wild. Amidst the rising confusion, Tony and Nebula exited the throne room.

“You got that, FRIDAY?” He asked once they left the palace.

“Done, sir.”

“Nebula-”

“Wait!” Shuri raced outside after them. “Wait!” Her voice was ragged and tears streamed down her face.

They froze. “Queen Shuri?”

She marched right up in Tony’s face. For a moment he thought she would slap him. “I had a brother. I lost a brother! How could you do this to me?”

“My apologies, your grace.” Nebula redirected her fury. “I lost a sister.”

“And I had - a son.” Tony swallowed hard.

Shuri glared at them, shaking her head violently. Rage flashed across her face just as quickly as it left. They stood with her as the fight drained away and she broke down in sobs.

“We’re going to get them back.” Nebula promised firmly, more gently than Tony ever heard her sound. “For now be present for your people, they need their queen.”

Tony hesitantly placed a hand on her shoulder. “Make the preparations you need until we ask your help to fight for them again.”

With a final sniff, the queen’s anguish vanished. Shuri hid it away and gave them a fiercely determined nod. Tony realized he was wrong, her heartbreak would fuel her fire until the fight was won. 

“Stay in touch.”

They rejoined everyone else on the Quinjet. 

“Do you - need help? Storing memories or backing up files?” Tony asked awkwardly.

Nebula shook her head before he even finished. “My mind doesn’t work the same as yours. Where then human part fails, the machinery picks it up again. He might have erased human memory but so far he cannot erase technological evidence of their existence.”

“Let’s not take any chances.” Tony led her to a computer where she could upload any and all data she wanted.

“In any case, my sister’s memory is safe. For the others, I will remember the ones she loved. My father’s experimentation finally served a purpose, and it will help bring his defeat.”

“I’ll work on what to do if anything changes.”

Nebula looked him dead in the eyes. “Don’t worry, we will remember them.”

“Better. We will avenge them.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading ❤ Any feedback is appreciated!


End file.
